events legacy wallChinaISSUE 66 / ConfErEnCE & MEEtIngS World / 45knoWn for ItS hoSpItalIty, ChIna haS Stood CEntrE StagE In rECEnt yEarS WIth ItS hoStIng of thE olyMpICS and World Expo. hoW haS It bUIlt on thIS EvEntS lEgaCy?he People's Republic of China is one of the oldest civilisations in the world with some 4,000 years of continuous history. With a population of 1.3bn and a land mass of nine million sqkm, the country offers one of the most varied and unique event landscapes on the planet. Although the communist state has not always been welcoming of outsiders, it has made great strides in encouraging communication in recent years. China is driven by export and is keen to open channels for trade with international conferences and exhibitions needed for this reason. "China can provide organisers and delegates new networking opportunities," says VariArts Travel Group, master licensee holder of HelmsBriscoe China, and China Luxury Travel Network's Business Development Manager, Daniel Sumarto. "Given almost every industry in China is currently experiencing growth, new business opportunities are still emerging for international enterprises and demand for conference venues remain strong." China's State Council announced in 2009 that tourism had been earmarked as a strategic pillar of its economy going forward. This encouragement has helped China develop a maturing native meetings industry able to take advantage of the country's modern state-sponsored events infrastructure built for such events as the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, which attracted 74m visitors over 184 days, and the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. One new development born out of the Games was the China National Convention Centre (CNCC), which was used as the Games' press and broadcasting centre and then retro-fitted to become a convention centre with 25,000sqm of function space and 99 meeting rooms. Last year was the centre's first full operating year and it ran 700 events, 15 per cent international and 85 per cent domestic. Among annual events held at the centre are the China meetings and incentive tradeshow by Reed Travel Exhibitions, CITBM, and next year it will host the SITE 2012 global conference, which will be co-located with CIBTM 2012. WordS Sarah O'dOnnellTOne of the challenges of working in the market here has been the 'software' keeping up with the new 'hardware'TurningpOinT SOluTiOnS' md peTer pecOTic

China46 / ConferenCe & Meetings World / issUe 66Above: China offers organisers modern event facilties surrounded by ancient settingsSenior Director for Sales and Marketing at the CNCC, Jennifer Salsbury, says: "One of the legacies of the World Expo and the Games was the introduction of international event management agencies setting up shop in Beijing and Shanghai such as American Express, MCI Group and TUI Travel. This resulted in an improvement in the local expertise." The GM of the Chinese division of events and live marketing agency Vok Dams, Ulrike Ellmann, says the event market is getting constantly more professional in China: "You can clearly see that by comparing current events with what has been done in the past."The MD of Shanghai-based agency Turningpoint Solutions, Peter Pecotic says: "The Games created success in public diplomacy by increasing international exchange and understanding. Beijing was able to use the events to creative massive public support of the infrastructure upgrades. "These events created a new generation of event professionals, which we can all now benefit from."He says, however, one of the challenges of working in China has been the 'software' keeping up with the new 'hardware'. "We find it challenging to find results-orientated staff and service providers," he adds. CIBTM Project Manager, Jeffery Xu says the 5th China and Asia Annual Meetings Industry Research Report presented at CIBTM 2011 in August, highlighted the need for professional training and education to keep up with the pace of growth: "Accreditation has become an important focus - this is shown in the thirst for knowledge."International understandingSumarto says the country's experience in large-scale events has been instrumental in shaping governmental policy, new venues and services. "More international standard facilities are being constructed not only in major Chinese cities, but also in second tier cities such as Xian, Tianjin and Chengdu" Xu tells CMW.And growth continues. Beijing has commenced construction of its Beijing Daxing International Airport, which is set to open in 2015 and when fully running is expected to be the world's busiest and biggest aviation hub hosting 370,000 passengers a day.In September 2011, the Shanghai Government announced plans for a 500,000sqm convention centre to stretch across 104 hectares. The US$3.5bn China Expo Center is expected to be the world's largest exhibition and convention centre. China has also invested 700bn yuan (US$110bn) into railway construction with 10,000 km of high-speed railway under construction at present. And it is not just the infrastructure which is growing. MD of TTG Asia Media, organiser of Shanghai-based meetings tradeshow IT&CM China, Darren Ng, says MICE travel spend grew by 40 per cent a year in China, compared to 20 per cent for leisure. VP of Grand China Express International Travel, Ni Hui, says he expects China's MICE travel to become bigger than the US market within the next two years. "There is a huge demand and it is currently dominated by the medical/pharmaceutical sector with over 30 per cent of all clients." New convention centres, hotels, airports and highways have helped to redefine China as a modern meetings destination. The 2011 Global Tourism Competitiveness Report, released by the World Economic Forum, ranked China's tourism competitiveness 39th, up from 62nd four years ago. In the 2010 International Congress and Convention Association rankings China placed eighth with 282 qualifying meetings, one place up on 2009's rankings. Beijing ranked 12th (10th in 2009) with Buenos Aires. "It is expected by 2020 the scale of the market will be four to five times as large as it is today," Xu says. Historic settingsOrganisers are not just interested in new meeting spaces. With 4,000 years of history comes unique spaces for meetings and corporate hospitality. "Beijing alone has one of the highest concentrations of ancient sites protected as UNESCO World Heritage sites," says Salsbury. "Many of these palaces and monuments can